Middle East: Land, Oil & Cities

The Real Estate Archive is a curated record of how land, property, cities, and ownership systems have evolved over time. It documents key moments when laws were enacted, territories changed hands, markets were created or dismantled, and infrastructure decisions reshaped the value and use of land.

Syed Shayan Real Estate Archive is founded on the understanding that real estate history is not separate from political or economic history but is deeply embedded within it.
Through carefully researched entries, the archive traces landmark dates, decisions, and events that influenced property markets at local, regional, and global levels. These include state formations, land reforms, major acquisitions, urban planning milestones, infrastructure projects, and policy shifts that altered ownership patterns and real estate valuation. Each entry is placed within its historical context and examined through a real estate lens, focusing on land transfer, asset control, market behaviour, and long term spatial consequences.

The purpose of this archive is not nostalgia, but continuity and understanding. By recording what occurred on specific dates, the Real Estate Archive explains why present day property markets function as they do, how cities acquired their current form, and how historical legal and political decisions continue to shape land as an economic, social, and strategic asset. It is intended for researchers, professionals, students, and readers who seek depth, structure, and documented insight rather than opinion or speculation.

It should also be noted that this archive has been formally named the Syed Shahan Real Estate Archive with a clear long term vision. The intention is to develop it into a recognised reference over time, similar in spirit to major global knowledge repositories and encyclopaedic archives that are consulted for accuracy, continuity, and authority. By maintaining consistency, editorial discipline, and historical rigour, the archive aspires to become a dependable point of reference for real estate history across generations.

This section is maintained with an archival approach where dates matter, sources matter, and language remains precise. Analysis is grounded in verifiable history. Within this framework, On This Date highlights significant moments from real estate history, reinforcing the idea that every piece of land carries a past and every market is shaped by decisions made long before the present day.

This archive is developed and maintained as a research archive within the Syed Shayan Institute for Real Estate Research, researched, written, and edited under the direct supervision of Syed Shayan, real estate historian and analyst. It is an ongoing body of work, designed to evolve through continuous research, verification, and documentation over time.